There were a few hiccups this morning regarding the tides and resultant problems with which gangway to use safely. Eventually things were figured out and sorted but it caused a bit of a delay for tours. Shore Ex did have a plan to see that transition from ship to relevant bus would go smoothly. Unfortunately the plan fell apart. Guests seemed to burst out of the ship and onto the pier in their eagerness to get to their tour, and ignored the ladies in the process. Ship staff helping Shore Ex could do little to help either because they were also ignored. It seemed like chaos but eventually it settled and everyone found their respective tour bus or guide who was waving a pole with the name of their tour on it.
The group I was assigned to was soon on the road to our destination. Apparently the zipline that we were heading to was the first recreational zipline in the world. After being kitted out with helmet, gloves and a double zip roller gadget we were given a demonstration of what to expect and what to do, i.e. very little. The company’s guides do all the work in hooking and unhooking guests to the lines at each tree. We just had to make sure our hands were holding the harness lines just above us.
In the UK and France you don’t wear a helmet or gloves, and once taught how to use the wires and carabiners (and doing a demonstration of what you have learnt to the guides) you are sent on your way to do the zipline course. You would hook and unhook yourselves onto the ziplines, one safety wire at a time so that one safety wire is always in contact with a zipline or resting point line, with staff always close by to keep an eye on things.
Anyway, back to the story. The group of guests I was with was a lively bunch with a great sense of humour. The ziplines’ staff was just as bad ;-) so it made a great day to monkey around. After going up a ramp to the first tree’s platform we were soon underway, a guide hooking you to a line and another one at the next tree to unhook you and hook you back to a waiting safety line while you wait your turn for the next zipline. At the last but short zipline we were offered a chance to hang upside down in our harness and let our arms hang as we sped along, keeping our legs crossed in front of the suspension lines so as not to touch the zipwire. Fantastic! It was great fun whizzing across the lines however I felt that something was missing. Possibly I’m too used to the UK and French ziplines. After we completed the zipline course we were given refreshments and sliced fruit. Yum. During our visit we saw iguanas, many varieties of flowers and also birdlife.
A few of the guests went with a guide to the nearby Tarcoles River briefly to see the crocodiles and take photographs. I didn’t go – I just wanted to stay in the cool open air building, and I have also seen crocs before – lower down on the same river when the Maasdam was last in Puerto Caldera a few weeks ago. Apparently about two years ago 2 lads had had too much to drink and caused trouble on a local bus they were travelling on. Needless to say the driver couldn’t take any more of their nonsense and stopped the bus for them to get off, near the bridge and the zipline course. The bright sparks decided it was a good idea to swim in the river…. Needless to say they won the ‘Darwin Award’ by removing themselves from the gene pool. Life is full of weird and wonderful people, making life quite ‘colourful’ and certainly never dull…
The clouds decided to cool the earth a bit with a few drops of rain when we got back to the Maasdam. It was very welcoming but not quite enough of a downpour for me to get out a towel, soap and scrubbing brush. I ended up using the cabin’s shower instead.
The Maasdam will be at sea tomorrow, sailing towards the Panama Canal which we will reach on Monday.
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| Sailing towards our next destination - the Panama Canal |
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